Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, March 25, 2010

The school district will pay incentives of $5,000 for newly-hired teachers in the 2010-11 school year in secondary science and mathematics, and $1,500 for teachers in special education and bilingual/English as a second language.

Rick Rodriguez, the school district’s assistant superintendent for human resources, said the incentives will help the Lubbock district be more competitive with other school districts in signing teachers who are qualified in the critical subject areas.

Rodriguez said the school district could not afford to offer incentives for all the critical subject areas.

Another option for school districts to attract and retain teachers qualified in critical subject areas is offering yearly stipends, and Lubbock administrators are considering it, Rodriguez said. The stipends would amount to annual salary bonuses for the teachers.

The school district can hire retired teachers as full-time teachers in the critical subject areas, but it can be expensive. A surcharge of almost 13 percent must be paid by the district to the Teacher Retirement System pension fund and for the state contribution for the retirees’ TRS health care benefits. The surcharges are not required for teachers who retired before Sept. 1, 2005. — Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

CANYON — A former Canyon High School teacher has been charged with having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Randall County Criminal District Attorney James Farren said his office accepted two counts of improper relationship between an educator and a student. If convicted, the female teacher, who hasn’t been arrested or had bond set, faces two to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

Farren said authorities allege the teacher had two sexual encounters with a male student off campus during the past few months. The student was at least 17 when the episodes allegedly occurred, he said.

The state statute that defines an improper relationship between an educator and a student makes any sexual contact between a secondary education teacher and a student illegal, regardless of a student’s age and whether the sexual contact was consensual.

Canyon ISD officials said in early March that the teacher resigned Feb. 25, citing personal reasons. — Amarillo Globe-News

BUSHLAND — A research facility that is home to state and federal agencies is being recognized by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for striving to clear the air around feedlots and dairies.

The Bushland facility is part of a broader team — which also includes West Texas A&M University, Kansas State University, USDA Research Service and Texas AgriLife — set to receive the commission’s 2010 Texas Environmental Excellence Award, the state’s highest environmental award.

The team has been working to document emissions of dust, odor and gases from feedlots and dairies since 2002, earning the commission award that recognizes excellence in conservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. — Amarillo Globe-News

LUBBOCK — Texas Tech’s Health Sciences Center has unveiled a three-year medical degree to help address a shortage of primary-care physicians in West Texas and across the nation. The new program will allow medical students to complete their degree in three years, rather than the typical four. They’ll also receive a $13,000 scholarship to cover tuition and fees during their first year, Tech Chancellor Kent Hance said.

Graduates will go on to complete three-year residency programs in West Texas.

A 2006 American Academy of Family Physicians study predicts 39,000 more family doctors will be needed nationwide by 2020. Reportedly, there are about 3,600 spots in rural West Texas towns.

The shortage stems from Texas’ growing population, coupled with a disproportionate number of debt-strapped medics choosing specialty medicine, which is more lucrative than primary care. Medical students across the U.S. graduated with an average debt of $156,000, according to 2009 data from the American Medical Association.

Ten students who already have been accepted into Tech’s Medical School will begin the program in the fall. The university might expand the program, drawing applicants from West Texas and beyond as it grows. — Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

LUBBOCK — Amarillo posted the lowest unemployment rate in the state in February at 5.7 percent, followed by Midland at 5.8 percent and Lubbock, which tied College Station-Bryan at 6.2 percent.

According to figures released by the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment across the larger South Plains Workforce Development Area also dropped in February, holding at 6.4 percent last month compared with 6.6 percent in January.

The Lubbock-Crosby area posted a net increase of 600 jobs last month. The professional and business services category accounted for 500 positions, while trade, transportation and utilities added 200. Manufacturing and leisure and hospitality each added 100 jobs, while mining, logging and construction, government, and information businesses each shed 100 positions.

Some of the increase in professional and business jobs probably was connected with accounting and tax firms increasing their staffs as federal income tax deadlines approach, one official said.

The South Plains unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in February 2009, while the Lubbock-Crosby rate a year ago was 4.8 percent.

According to the TWC report, an estimated 8,900 people are jobless in the area, compared with 9,100 in January.

Texas suffered a net loss of 13,000 jobs last month, but the unemployment rate held steady from January’s level at 8.2 percent. — Lubbock Avalanche-Journal